


Ticket To Ride

by flyboi_writer



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: F/M, Mentioned Susan Foreman, Post-Canon, The Beatles - Freeform, Ticket To Ride, bad dancing, i don't know how to tag things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:22:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27659444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyboi_writer/pseuds/flyboi_writer
Summary: 5 times Ian Chesterton heard Ticket To Ride(A five-times fic without the added one at the end)
Relationships: Ian Chesterton/Barbara Wright
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this originally on my Instagram but here's an edited (and better) version.

The first time Ian heard the song again, he was sitting at his cramped desk in the tiny apartment his old landlady had graciously lent him. Even though he had only been back in his own time for a few months, to Ian it felt like a lifetime.

The opening bars hit him with a wave of nostalgia, the memories of his time aboard the Tardis washing over him. Out of habit, he turned to look excitedly at Barbara only remembering after the fact that she wasn’t with him. She was staying with her parents since they had gotten back and Ian hadn’t had the time nor the opportunity to see her. They had promised each other that once they had jobs and their lives returned to relative normalcy, they would rent an apartment together and get on with their lives. But it had proved more difficult than expected. Their abrupt departure and subsequent disappearance had sparked a lot of gossip among their friends and family. Had they run off and eloped or had they been involved in something sinister? Their families had contacted the government and upon their return, both Ian and Barbara had been whisked away and questioned about Russians and nuclear weapons. Susan’s disappearance didn’t help either. They were not only questioned about their relationship with the girl but also about the mysterious old man and his knowledge of Susan. Luckily, the interrogations had died down after a while and they were able to continue their job search. However, the two-year gap in their lives still went unexplained and no applications had been accepted. Ian sighed sadly and looked out of the small, grubby window. It was going to be hard but he- they would get through it. They had to.

_The girl that’s driving me mad_

_Is going away, yeah_


	2. Chapter 2

Ian and Barbara had been living in their small apartment for a while now that they had managed to find teaching jobs at a small school. The couple had had some trouble settling back into normal life but they discovered that they did enjoy the more mundane aspects of life. 

Barbara was sweeping their sparsely decorated bedroom one sunny Saturday afternoon when Ian shouted out for her from the living room. She dropped the broom and ran down the hallway, dozens of horrible scenarios running through her mind. She abruptly skidded to a halt at the sight of Ian grinning broadly, arms outstretched. 

“Ian! What’s wrong?” She asked breathlessly, slightly annoyed that he had caused her so much panic.

He held out his arm for her to take and gestured towards the radio with the other.

“The song, Barbara! It’s the song!”

She looped her arm around his waist as he turned up the volume. Her eyes widened as the chorus started and she began to recognize the tune.

“Ian, it’s ‘Ticket to Ride'!”

Laughing, he spun her around and kissed her cheek.

“It is, isn't it?” He bowed dramatically and placed a kiss on the top of her hand, “May I have this dance?”

She ruffled his hair gently as she suppressed a giggle.

“Of course, Sir Ian.”

He took her into his arms and spun her around, occasionally chiming in with the music.

“Oh Ian!” she threw her head back, laughing, “Your singing voice is abysmal!”

He harrumphed, turning a cheek to his fiancee.

“I’ll have you know I have the voice of an _angel_ ”

“Alright, darling, if you say so!”

He glared at her, a small smile dancing on his lips. Suddenly, he dipped her down and kissed her passionately. After getting over her initial shock, Barbara wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.

“What was that all about?” She asked, slightly breathlessly, after Ian brought them both back up to the conventional standing position. 

“I’m not sure,” he said, shrugging as he brushed a hair behind her ear, “I just love you very much.”

She smiled and kissed him gently on the nose.

“I love you too, Ian”

_She’s got a ticket to ride_

_And she don’t care_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh man i almost forgot about this... anyway, comments and kudos appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

Barbara had, rather reluctantly, agreed to let Ian pick the music for their wedding. He claimed it made the most sense due to his ‘good taste in music’ and ‘knowledge of the most popular songs’. Barbara wasn’t so sure that any of that was true, but she knew it made him happy so she went along with it. He did, however, refuse to tell her what the song for their first dance would be until a few moments before the actual event.

They were on the dance floor when he whispered the name of the song into her ear. Part of her already knew the answer yet there was still a sense of surprise and excitement at the thought of dancing with him to such a sentimental song.

The dance was calm, well, calmer than most of Ian’s dancing. To Barbara, it almost felt like floating, something new and exciting. After, when they had both collapsed into some chairs, she asked him if he had taken any lessons. He denied it, a smile dancing on his lips.

“Me? Taking dance lessons? No, I was just saving my incredible dancing for this day!”

She laughed and kissed him softly. She didn’t believe him, of course. But she didn’t need to think about it now. She had the rest of their lives to think about it.

_ Before she gets to saying goodbye _

_ She ought to think twice _

_ She ought to do right by me _


	4. Chapter 4

They both liked to sing to John. Ian stuck to the usual nursery rhymes like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “You are my Sunshine”. Barbara liked to get creative and sing the songs her mother sang her. She claimed she couldn’t sing very well yet Ian always found himself drawn to John’s nursery whenever she began to put him to sleep. He would praise her whenever he got the chance but she would just brush him aside modestly. 

“Really, Ian” she would say, “It’s no big deal! Now if you don’t stop raising your voice you’re going to wake John!”

One night, as usual, Ian and Barbara were woken up to the sound of crying coming from John’s nursery.

“Don’t worry.” Ian mumbled sleepily, “I’ll get him.”

Barbara sighed and buried herself back under the covers. As much as she loved being a mother, waking up in the middle of the night was not her favorite part. Even if she didn’t have to go check on the baby. She was just about to drift to sleep when she heard a familiar tune drifting out of Johnny’s nursery. To her surprise, it wasn’t a nursery rhyme nor any song they sang to the little boy. Putting on her bathrobe, she crept carefully towards the nursery, making sure she didn’t make a lot of noise. Standing in the doorway of the room, she saw the outline of her husband cradling their son. He was singing in a low voice, almost too quiet for her to hear. She crept towards Ian, smiling as she finally heard clearly what song he was singing. She placed her hands on his shoulders, only giving him a slight fright. He smiled when he saw her and placed an arm around her, allowing them both to cradle John. 

“You’re not making any comments about my singing, Barbara!” Ian whispered.

“I’ll make an exception this time, Ian. I’m surprised though. Ticket to Ride? Not really a nursery rhyme, is it?”

He laughed

“No, I suppose not. But John should know his parents’ song!”

Barbara sighed and snuggled up into Ian’s side.

“I love you, Ian.”

“I love you too, Barbara.”

_ She said that living with me _

_ Is bringing her down, yeah _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay well it seems like I'm just going to post the rest of the chapters today. Oh well.


	5. Chapter 5

Ian lied to Barbara about what the doctor said.

“It’ll be alright.” He whispered as he clutched her hand.

She didn’t respond, but then again he didn’t expect her to. She hadn’t been conscious in days. Sometimes, Ian caught himself hoping she would pass. Not because he wanted her gone but because he couldn’t bear to see her suffer anymore. 

“The doctor said he didn’t know how much longer you have... but he said it-” his voice caught in his throat, “He said you probably won’t last much longer”

He gently stroked her thumb, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall.

“I don’t want you to leave me, Barbara.” He whispered, pressing his lips against her forehead. “How will I survive without you? 

“Do you remember the first time I asked you out on a date? We were stuck on some alien planet because the Doctor broke the Tardis!” He chuckled, “I took you to dinner. When we got back Vicki and the Doctor were arguing about an animal Vicki had brought back into the Tardis...”

Ian stopped, staring at Barbara’s hand which he swore he had seen move.

“Barbara? Are you there?”

Nothing.

He sighed and ran a hand through his thinning hair.

“Oh Barbara...”, he squeezed her hand and gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Quietly, he began to sing to her in a low voice.

“I think I’m gonna be sad, I think it’s today, yeah. The girl that’s driving me mad is going away, yeah”

He had no idea what pushed him to start singing or why he was singing in the first place. Maybe he was trying to comfort her or maybe it was simply to comfort himself. 

“Oh she’s got a ticket to ride, she’s got a ticket to ri-i-ide, she’s got a ticket to ride and she don’t- Barbara?” The heart monitor suddenly letting out a long beep as the line faltered and flat-lined, “Barbara! No... please don’t leave me!”

He cried out, clutching her shoulders, and sobbing into her chest. He gripped her hospital gown, desperate to find a heartbeat that he knew he wouldn’t find. She couldn’t be gone. He wouldn’t be able to survive without her. They had lived through so much and seen so much together. It wasn’t fair. Ian sat up, his entire body shaking as he wiped the tears off his face. He kissed his wife for the last time before picking up the phone to call his family.

“John? It’s Dad. She’s gone. I-“ his voice broke, “She’s gone, Johnny. I’m all alone.”

_ I think I’m gonna be sad _

_ I think it’s today, yeah _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well... I don't even know what to say


End file.
